Shedding light on how to illuminate a home

Accent: Used to focus attention on objects such as artwork or architectural features.

Ambient: Used to generally light an area, usually with indirect, diffused light.

Decorative: Fixtures that provide usable light but also may be mostly fun to look at, such as chandeliers, pendants, low voltage and LED fixtures.

A few tricks:

Uplighting (light aimed upward) can make low ceilings seem higher.

Downlighting (light aimed downward) can help keep attention away from ugly ceilings.

You can make a room seem larger by washing its walls with even lighting. In a large room, lighting up a few areas with pools of light can make the room feel smaller and cozier.

When buying a fixture, consider the beam pattern you're getting: focused, diffused or somewhere in between.

Fixtures may look smaller in a store than at home. Measure a fixture you're interested in. Find a box or other object of the same size and hold it in place at home to see how it will fit the space before you buy.

It's wise to select furnishings and other décor materials in the same kind of light you live with. Borrow samples, if possible, to see how things look in your home lighting.

Reflectance has a lot to do with how we perceive light in a room. Matte finishes absorb light more than reflective surfaces. A room with fabric-covered walls will need more light to look as bright as the same room with walls painted in a glossier finish. Glossy surfaces such as granite countertops also affect reflectance levels.

A few definitions:

Light: The visible part of the wide range of electromagnetic radiation. Nonvisible parts of the spectrum include infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, radio waves and heat waves.

Lumen: A measure of light. A 40-watt incandescent bulb in the usual pear shape creates about 455 lumens; a 75-watt bulb throws out 1,190 lumens.

Foot-candle: The amount of illumination created by a 1 lumen over a 1-square-foot surface. Entertaining and dining require between 10 and 20 foot-candles; sewing and food preparation require 50 to 100 foot-candles.

Kelvin: A unit that describes the colors emitted by bulbs. Temperatures below 3,500 degrees Kelvin are yellower and warmer; temperatures above are cooler and bluer. 2,700 and 3,000 are typical of incandescent light; 3,500 is typical of halogen lights and 4,100 is considered a daylight color (and somewhat bluer.)

Incandescent light: The old standby of interior lighting. It has most of the spectrum of visible light with a large proportion of yellow and red. (When dimmed, it can become even warmer.)

Fluorescent light: More efficient and cooler than incandescent lights and seen by many as a big part of the solution to America's energy crunch. In the old days, it was high in green and blue light waves, but it now comes in a wide range of tones. Compact fluorescent bulbs fit into traditional incandescent sockets and are getting a big boost from Wal-Mart, which just announced a campaign to sell more of them.

Halogen light: Creates brighter, cleaner white light than other types of lighting, making it useful for spotlighting and task lighting. However, these bulbs can burn very hot and can be a fire hazard, especially if they are in an easily toppled fixture, such as a torchiere.

Lighting strategies:

Entryways: The lighting should offer a transitional level of brightness between the outdoors and indoors. Consider the view into the house and have lighting that leads visitors further in.

Living rooms: Think layers of light, with ambient, task and accent lights.

Kitchens: You need lots of light and lighting options. Under-cabinet lighting is a popular way to bring task lighting to counters. Hanging pendants are a hip and colorful way to bring lighting into the room. For kitchens and bathrooms, any light fixture within reach of a source of water must be protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter to prevent electrical shocks.

Dining areas: A hanging light should generally be at least 12 inches narrower than the table and hang a minimum of 30 inches above the table's surface to avoid glare and collisions. Light should not be from only one source; a chandelier should be augmented by one or more adjustable downlights or wall lights.

Hallways: Make them neither a lot brighter or dimmer than adjoining rooms, so moving through them is not jarring.

Stairs: Must be well-lighted for safety.

Bedrooms: Soft ambient lighting and directional lights for reading on either side of the bed make for a snug layout.

Bathrooms: A single light above the mirror is not best. Lighting on either side of the mirror is optimal for putting on makeup or shaving.

Outdoor lighting: Visitors should be able to see your address and find the front door easily. You need enough light to clearly see a face through a peep hole. Make sure steps, railings and benches are lighted to allow for safe navigation. Consider the view outdoors from inside. Solar lighting is a fun, flexible way to put a spotlight on prize plantings. Low-voltage lighting is easy to install for most outdoor use.

Compact promise

Compact fluorescent lighting can save you money and time. And it might just save the world, a little anyway.

CFL bulbs fit sockets made for standard incandescent bulbs. They last much longer, burn much cooler and use much less electricity than their incandescent counterparts. A CFL bulb uses a quarter of the energy of a comparable incandescent bulb, and lasts at least 10 times longer. Since interior lighting can account for 40 percent of a household's electric bill, according to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, that's a lot of money.

Incandescent bulbs are more efficient as heaters than as light sources. Swap them out for CFLs and you'll save money, save on air conditioning and help reduce overall demand for electricity.

Old objections to CFLs are being overcome. They used to flicker and hum, and the light they created was cool in tone and often unflattering. Now, they are quiet and available in all sorts of tones, including those comparable to incandescent lights (look for "soft white" on the label). You can even find ones that work with dimmers.

"Take some and try them; how can you lose?" says Hugh Fowler, supervisor in residential services at SMUD. "At some point the incandescent bulb will be passé, and the CFL will be the common bulb people will buy.

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Sources: "Great Ideas for Home Lighting" (Sunset Books, $14.95; 128 pages)